The Lament of the Border Cattle Thief
O woe is me for the merry lifeI led beyond the Bar,And a treble woe for my winsome wifeThat weeps at Shalimar.
They have taken away my long jezail,My shield and sabre fine,And heaved me into the Central jailFor lifting of the kine.
The steer may low within the byre,The Jat may tend his grain,But there'll be neither loot nor fireTill I come back again.
And God have mercy on the JatWhen once my fetters fall,And Heaven defend the farmer's hutWhen I am loosed from thrall.
It's woe to bend the stubborn backAbove the grinching quern,It's woe to hear the leg-bar clackAnd jingle when I turn!
But for the sorrow and the shame,The brand on me and mine,I'll pay you back in leaping flameAnd loss of the butchered kine.
For every cow I spared beforeIn charity set free,If I may reach my hold once moreI'll reive an honest three.
For every time I raised the lowThat scared the dusty plain,By sword and cord, by torch and towI'll light the land with twain!
Ride hard, ride hard to Abazai,Young Sahib with the yellow hair—Lie close, lie close as khuttucks lie,Fat herds below Bonair!
The one I'll shoot at twilight-tide,At dawn I'll drive the other;The black shall mourn for hoof and hide,The white man for his brother.
'Tis war, red war, I'll give you then,War till my sinews fail;For the wrong you have done to a chief of men,And a thief of the Zukka Kheyl.
And if I fall to your hand afreshI give you leave for the sin,That you cram my throat with the foul pig's flesh,And swing me in the skin!
Sign in to like, rate and collect poems, and keep track of what you've read.